The iTunes App Store has truly allowed for many companies to shine. An indie market where new developers can jump in and try their hand at creating the next big thing. Such was the fate for Firemint, the glorious team behind the great iPhone hits Flight Control and Real Racing. Now Firemint is back with a successor to the huge App Store hit, with 16 player online via Game Center, over 30 licensed cars, all of which can be customized, and a huge campaign spanning over 120 races. Can this game take the crown from Need for Speed Shift, or will it run out of gas? Let's see.

Gameplay

As with most racing games, you pretty much know what to expect from these types of titles, but none do it with the prowess and style that Real Racing 2 does. Real Racing 2 HD is certainly a treat for racing gamer enthusiasts as well as non-racing gamers, since its assist system certainly help curve the balance of the game just the way you want it. So whether you?re a beginner, or a pro, you will easily be able to adjust the controls to your liking due to the plethora of control options available.

Aside from all this, the game features 30 licensed cars, all of which you can use your in-game money won from campaign races to upgrade, paint, or buy/sell between them. With 120 campaign races, all of which truly feel unique due to the sizeable amount of 16 racers on each track, and all these features, it?s hard not to see this game as a great example of ?True Value? when buying a game.

But ON TOP of all this, there is the 16 player online racing, which works seamlessly and has a lobby system akin to games such as Call of Duty Black Ops and the like, where you click ?Join a session? and it instantly finds you a lobby. You then can wait for more players (when a certain amount of people join, a timer begins to countdown till the start, so you are never waiting too long), vote for the map you would like to race on, and vote for the amount of laps you would like. This system works really flawlessly, and I never encountered a problem, or a situation where I had to wait for longer then 2 minutes. The only problems I have encountered in game are some crashes, which aren?t that prominent, but they do happen once in a while. All in all, your getting a lot in this one package, and this isn?t something that you should miss.

Graphics

Firemint has done a beautiful thing, bringing 16 players all on one track. This easily beats the measly 4 that other racing games on the iPad give, all the while making all the cars look smooth and fantastic. The game looks really good on the original iPad, but it is the iPad 2 where everything begins to pop. Regardless though, all the tracks are fully detailed, you see people in the stands cheering you on, and you see drivers in every car. This is as detailed as you can hope for in iPad racing, and I would be amazed to see anything that could even remotely surpass this in terms of sheer amount of details on screen yet all rendered flawlessly in high quality.

Sound

As soon as you start up the game, you are greeted to the roaring sound of a car engine, and some really awesome techno music. It all comes together really well, and really get you into the game. The BGM has a lot of various songs, from techno to rock, this soundtrack is varied enough to never making you feel as though you are listening to the same song for the 50th time since you will race that many times and a lot more. All around this game is great in the sound section, and is definitely enough to keep you entertained.

Conclusion

When the first Real Racing was released for the iPad, people really thought there was no way that Firemint could outdo themselves, but lo behold, here comes Real Racing 2. It?s prettier, has a lot more content, and the online multiplayer is a lot more robust. There really just is no way you could ever complain about this game, given that you are getting so much in it. If you are even remotely interested in racing games, get this, you won?t be disappointed.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: - 5 - Everything is detailed and has ?life? in them, all the while providing a smooth 60 frames per secondSound: - 5 - The soundtrack will keep you attached to this game for a long time, being entertaining and motivating, while the sound effects really add to the experience Controls: - 5 - Basically Firemint took every possible control scheme for iPad racing games and added them in here, so no matter how you drive, you?ll definitely be able to find a scheme that works for you. Gameplay: - 5 - Amazing in every respect, this is the racing game that I?m sure of which will hold the title as best racing game, for a very, very long time

Playing Hints and Tips:

To be the best and have the most control, I suggest turning off all assists immediately, and putting on the control scheme where you click to accelerate and click to break. This will give you greater control, and although it will be difficult in the beginning, you will quickly learn when to trade speed for control and vice versa.